THE EAST-LINK Bridge in Dublin is to be officially named the Tom Clarke Bridge in memory of the 1916 leader.
The toll bridge is the last bridge over the Liffey before the river enters Dublin Bay and Dublin City Council says there are no records of it ever being officially named.
The bridge was built in 1984 under a deal between Dublin Corporation, Dublin Port and National Toll Roads. It passed into the control of Dublin City Council at the end of last year and is now to be named the Tom Clarke Bridge.
The proposal to name the bridge was put to councillors tonight after an application was made by Independent Councillor Nial Ring of the Commemorative Naming Committee.
Ring says the decision to name the bridge after Tom Clarke will have a “lasting impact on our city.”
Tom Clarke gave so much to the cause of Irish freedom throughout his life and ultimately he gave his life for Ireland, and the fact that there was, up to now, nothing significant named after him in Dublin needed to be rectified.
Clarke was one of the chief organisers of the rising from his tobacconist shop in Dublin and was the first signatory of the proclamation.
The decision to name the bridge so soon after it comes under Dublin City Council’s control has been criticised by some, including Fine Gael Councillor Kieran Binchy who feels more public consultation was needed.
As part of the decision to name the bridge, it’s proposed that a memorial to Tom Clarke and the other 1916 rebels will be erected on green space beside the bridge.
Separately, it’s also been announced that Fr. Joseph Mallin, the last surviving child of an executed leader of the 1916 Rising, is to be awarded the Freedom of Dublin.
Previous Freemen and Freewomen of Dublin include Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, the four members of U2 and Aung San Suu Kyi.
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